


stay, as long as you can

by bogfenwetland



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-19 12:52:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15510297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bogfenwetland/pseuds/bogfenwetland
Summary: the earps own an inn, nicole is a knight, it's a medieval/fantasy au.in other words, nicole ends up working for them and falling for waverly because of course she does.





	1. what the hell, wynonna

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have a couple more chapters written of this so let me know if y'all want more, i have a vague idea of were the plot is headed lmao. also, i hate writing dialogue which i think is a little visible here so like... sorry.
> 
> waverly is caring and wynonna is protective so it makes sense that nicole's first meeting with them wouldn't go great. also, i've been watching a lot of critical role lately.

Honestly, Nicole hated her job. She became a knight to protect people, to protect herself. She was top of her class at the academy, for god’s sake! But nobody, not even Nicole “Loyalty” Haught, could keep optimism in the conditions she had been working with. Two months spent in the Bogach swamp on direct assignment from King Amadáin to find his ex-wife who left him because he fucked her sister? No rations, no coin, armor that was older than Nicole herself? A horse who had hated her since day one? It just wasn’t a sustainable career.

So let’s say you were supposed to be heading to the south coast to rid a little fishing village of sharks. You had been given about a day’s rest at the barracks after your last mission before being sent out again, so you were reasonably a little out of it. About halfway through the your trek south, you came across an orc who ripped your son of a bitch horse out from under you and ate it whole, along with your saddlebags and every belonging you had. You stabbed the orc through the eye, killing him but taking a nasty fall in the process and landing, unconscious, on a pile of soft gourds. Then you ended up awakening in a soft bed in a dimly lit stone cottage that appeared to be in the center of the empire’s median pines. And let’s say that your memory of recent events was a bit fuzzy because as you tried to recall what had happened a woman leaned over you to speak and you couldn’t tell if it was because of an injury you sustained or because of her that your heart stopped. Now you’re in honorable knight Nicole Haught’s shoes. Or her plate sabatons. Either way.

The woman’s voice was muffled in Nicole’s ringing ears, but as sound began to return she swore to the king’s god that it was an angel speaking to her. And it might have been that Nicole was very obviously not listening (this woman was gorgeous and Nicole was a simple lady), because she was startled by a light but intent slap and started to understand what she was hearing.

“...truly detestable behavior! I can’t believe that one of the ‘esteemed guard’ would act so carelessly to the citizens of the empire! It’s as if you have no care for the people you’re meant to protect, just going for glory and the kill like that and--” the woman yelled, clearly very upset.

“What are you on about?” Nicole asked, sitting up and feeling overwhelmed by the barrage of words being thrown at her, the spell of the woman’s beauty broken.

“You killed our gardenhand! And left his body to rot in the pumpkin patch! And now our food supply has got guts all over it and disease and is totally fucking ruined!”

Memories began to slam through Nicole’s mind in fragments: an orc, pumpkins, her horse, stabbing her sword through an eyeball… her sword. She moved quickly in an attempt to get up, her head spinning. As she faltered in her effort to rise, she felt the woman place a hand on her shoulder and push her back with a surprising amount of gentleness considering how angry she seemed.

“Where do you think you’re going? As hurt as you were you’d best believe you’re staying in this bed,” the woman said. Her words were bitter and harsh but her eyes conveyed a hint of softness and a type of care Nicole wasn’t familiar with, giving her total emotional whiplash.

“My sword…” Nicole muttered, holding a hand up to her throbbing head.

“Oh you mean the one you plunged into the brain of my employee? That one? It’s in the office and you’re not getting it back anytime soon, not if you go around stabbing locals like that,” she replied.

“You have no right to detain my equipment, that sword is property of the crown--”

“And that eyeball was property of Grungbul the orc, but I guess we can’t all have what we want,” the woman interrupted.

“Grungbul? Who is that?” Nicole voiced with confusion, this time managing to get fully out of the bed. She avoided the woman and began looking around the sparse room for her armor.

“My gardener! Who you killed? Unless you forgot about the fact that you murdered an innocent man?” she bit back.

“Innocent?” Nicole exclaimed as she fully recalled the events of the night before. “He grabbed my horse out from under me and swallowed it whole! Why are you employing somebody like that in the first place? An orc to do your farmwork, that’s insane! Where’s my gear?” She questioned, still searching for her armor.

With a softer, shocked tone the woman responded: “Did he really do that?”

“Yes! How are you surprised? Please, can I get my sword back?” “It’s just that he had never shown any violent urges since we hired him a few months ago… but no matter what that’s no excuse to kill him!” Her softness dissipated just as quickly as it came, turning back into rage.

As Nicole was about to respond the wooden door to the room slammed open and into her, pushing her back a few feet closer to the yelling girl. Another woman stepped in, taller than the one she had been speaking to and stumbling in her approach.

“Waverly!” the new entrant shouted, “is this the bitch that killed Grungbul?” She reached for an ivory handled dagger engraved with unique markings that stuck out of her boot cuff and pulled it on Nicole. In an instant, Waverly was between the two of them.

“Hold on! You can’t just stab her, Wynonna. Then we have two murders to deal with,” she responded under her breath, eyeing the woman sternly.

“I didn’t murder anybody! I was protecting myself from a grown-ass orc!” Nicole intervened.

“If you’re a knight you should know better than to just go around killing every dick you meet! See, Waves, this is why I’m always telling you not to trust these dickbags,” Wynonna said, motioning towards Nicole.

Nicole was confused and angry at these two women for the way they were speaking to her and how they refused to understand the simple situation she was placed in. It was kill or be killed! What did they expect her to do? “Fuck this, I don’t even know why I’m here,” Nicole whispered to herself as she shouldered past Wynonna through the doorway. Waverly said her sword was in an office? That’s probably where her armor and gear were too.

“Hey lady! You can’t just leave!” Nicole heard Wynonna yell from down the hallway.

She made it to the end of the hall, passing by doors which she assumed were other rooms. It must be some sort of inn or something. Heading down a staircase two steps at a time, she reached a landing with a small dining area on the right and a room that appeared to be a den on the left. An office is kind of like a den, right? So Nicole took a step to the left. And was instantly knocked face down with a heavy weight on her back and her hands pinned.

“No way! You don’t get to kill my employee and then try to skip-a-doodle on out of here!” Waverly spoke from above. Nicole got the sense that Waverly was straddling her back and holding her hands, but not her legs. This poor girl had no idea what was coming for her.

Nicole quickly moved her legs as if she were doing a pushup, unseating Waverly and knocking her onto the dark wood floor. As Waverly tried to stand, Nicole roughly pushed her back against the wall by her collarbone. A very strange look passed through Waverly’s eyes, one that Nicole has seen in other women but wouldn’t take the time to dissect right then. As Nicole readied to speak, she felt a sharp pain and then a spreading dull numbness in her right shoulder. The arm holding Waverly back dropped, and Nicole spun to see Wynonna holding her knife, blood dripping from the point of the blade.

“Try to hurt my baby sister again, you royal dog,” Wynonna spat. She was extremely calm, and Nicole knew instantly that she had definitely done something like this before.

“Wynonna, what the hell!” Waverly shouted.

“I thought I was helping!” Nicole heard as her vision blurred and she fell to the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol i wanted to write something fluffy and silly but like... who can resist a stabbing. it'll work out.


	2. shirtless and stupid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all are cute! glad you're having fun reading this. 
> 
> waverly makes some bold moves and nicole is... hm. what's the word. gay.

Nicole awoke in the same room she had previously, expecting a shooting pain in her back where Wynonna had stabbed her but instead finding no injury at all. And also finding that she was totally shirtless, which she had to deal with quickly as the door to the room creaked open. 

“Fuck!” Nicole whisper-yelled, scrambling out of the bed and wrapping a sheet around her chest to cover herself. She turned to the door, not knowing what to expect considering everything that had happened to her in this building so far.

A younger man walked in, dark skin and shaggy brown hair. He was already averting his gaze, yelling an apology as he entered.

“Sorry! Sorry, I know you’re like, naked and this is  _ such _ an invasion of privacy but it’s just that Waverly asked me to check up on you and she figured that since I was the one who took your shirt off it wouldn’t be weird for me to come back but it’s definitely weird and I don’t know why she seemed really uncomfortable with being the one to--” 

“You took my shirt off?” Nicole interrupted.

Eyes still averted, he replied: “Well, you know how Wynonna stabbed you? So they asked me to heal you and--”

“Heal me? What are you, some kind of wizard?” 

“We prefer the term mage but yes, I am…” he trailed off and then suddenly shouts. “Oh! I’m Jeremy, by the way. Gosh, so rude of me not to introduce myself.” He blindly stuck a hand out, eyes covered by his other arm. Nicole reached for it, hesitant because this guy seemed like a real freak. 

“Alright, Jeremy, can you get me something to wear?” She requested, shaking his hand.

“Of course! I should’ve done that originally, would’ve made this whole encounter less uncomfortable,” he replied, finishing with a nervous laugh and borderline sprinting out of the room.

Nicole sat back on the bed, wondering why every person she had come into contact with this past day had been crazy. First the orc in the garden who tried to kill her, then Waverly screaming at her a few hours later, then Wynonna pulling a knife on her? And Nicole reasoned that those two were sisters after Wynonna’s comment during the stabbing, but what was the deal with this inn? Waverly called the orc her employee and mentioned an office, so Nicole figured she owns the building. But how does someone so young get to be owning an inn? Waverly looked to be a few years below Nicole, and even she was fairly young for a knight. And they have a house mage? Who knows healing magic? And is supposed to be bringing her clothes? 

As she waited for Jeremy to return, Nicole finally took a good look around the room. She was in a small-ish bed (a nice change of pace from the moss of the forest floor and hard dirt trails she had been sleeping on the past few months), maybe big enough for two people if they squeezed in. It was covered with a soft, white blanket that seemed to be hand knit and lined with a red fringe. The pillow was a little hard, but functional. Actually, that seemed to describe the whole room. Dark wood floors that creaked under foot, a window on the west wall and some sconces on the others, a table by the bed with a candle in a holder, a wooden chair with a mauve cushion on the seat. It was quaint, but Nicole got the feeling that it was well taken care of and that the few furnishings there were were placed with love and pride. 

Her observations of her surroundings were interrupted by the sound of the door opening gently, a face appearing by the doorway that was certainly not Jeremy.

“Hey, uh--” Waverly started, blushing slightly.

“Do you--” Nicole began simultaneously. 

“Sorry--”

“Oh I--”

They both laughed quietly, maybe a little nervously but still Nicole couldn't help but feel grateful to finally have a genuine moment with one of these people.

“Okay,” Waverly started again, “I have one of my old shirts that might fit? It was big on me so I think it should be perfect for you.” She was holding up some faded blue linen, long sleeved with a curved neckline.

“Thank you,” Nicole replied, feeling a weird sense of true appreciation in her words. 

They stared at each other for a moment, Waverly still standing by the doorframe and Nicole still wrapped from the ribs up in a bedsheet. 

“Can I… can I have it?” Nicole asked.

“Oh shit, sorry! Yeah, yeah,” Waverly said as she walked quickly towards Nicole’s side, reaching for the sheet. 

“What are you--” Nicole began to ask, but the sheet was officially off her body and she was really not wearing a top in front of this woman now and might have be speechless with nerves. This bitch was bold.

Waverly expertly averted her gaze, both from Nicole’s now bare chest and Nicole’s eyes that stared incredulously up at her. “I know Jeremy healed you, but it’s still important to keep the injured spot relaxed,” she said, gently touching the back of Nicole’s arm as if willing her to lift it. Nicole complied, and Waverly softly slipped the shirt over her shoulders. It was a little snug, and Nicole’s stomach flipped as Waverly’s hands grazed down her back and she was overcome with the scent of the shirt. It was lavender and a bit of stale mead and bacon grease that should have be gross but instead it made her head spin. And god damn it, Waverly was talking again and Nicole had so clearly not been paying attention.

“Hello?” Waverly asked. “You really seem to have a problem with listening, honey.” 

_ Honey _ . Okay. Cool. Alright. 

“I, uh, sorry. What was that?” Nicole managed to stutter out. She felt like an idiot. Waverly was pretty before, but it seems that with the stabbing and all Nicole had forgotten.

“I asked you what your name is and why you’ve come this far from the capitol. I know knights don’t usually head this way, considering how lawless the folks around here act,” Waverly repeated with a sort of sarcasm, stepping back slightly from Nicole and sitting on the edge of the bed about two feet away. 

So Nicole told her the minimum she could, because she had never been one for sharing and it didn’t matter how much Waverly made her nerves fire off, she still wasn’t going to spill her heart out. 

“I’m Nicole, which I’m sure I would’ve told you earlier if you’re sister hadn’t gotten violent,” she told her.

“God, I am so sorry about that! Truly, I know I had been angry at you but I didn’t want you getting hurt at all, Wynonna just sometimes gets a little protective and you had, um, pinned me to the wall like that so of course she would be defensive…” Waverly swallowed thickly as she apologized, Nicole watching as her throat bobbed. 

“I mean, it’s alright. Your man Jeremy healed me up and it’s not like I haven’t had my fair share of penetration before,” Nicole said.

“What?” Waverly asked, taken aback.

“Like, by knives. Shit. I mean I’ve been stabbed a lot. I’m a knight!” Nicole explained hurriedly. 

After a moment of quiet Waverly giggled and Nicole heard music. 

“Okay, well, Miss Knight, I might have been a bit too rash with you when you first woke up,” Waverly began. “See, we had Grungbul employed here as a sort of rehabilitation, it’s something we do for certain people who are largely misunderstood by the populace. We thought by giving him good work he wouldn’t go towards a violent path like so many other orcs do, so it’s very strange that he turned on you like that,” Waverly talked with her hands a little as she elaborated. Nicole found it charming. 

“No, I should apologize to you. I shouldn’t have attacked him lethally like that, your sister was right. Not every dick I meet needs to be killed,” Nicole offered, trying to reassure Waverly that she wasn’t blaming her for anything. She wasn’t sure why the shorter girl’s opinion was so important to her. That’s not true. She was sure why but she was choosing to ignore it.

“Thank you for saying that, honestly it makes me feel a lot better about everything. But you still haven’t told me why you’re in this area?” Waverly questioned, raising an eyebrow in Nicole’s direction.

“I’m on assignment actually, under orders from one of the southern principal executors. A fishing town, Abhainn, has been dealing with some shark related issues. I’m just travelling through the pines to get there, I probably wouldn’t still be out here if it weren’t for your orc,” Nicole replied in her official knight voice, having trouble meeting the intensity of Waverly’s gaze as she spoke. 

“I’m familiar with the end of that story. I was the one that found you two, after all,” Waverly exhaled.

There was a beat of silence. 

“Hey, why would you bring me back here if you were upset with me for killing your gardener?” Nicole wondered.

“Already had one body rotting in the patch, didn’t want to make it two,” Waverly said flippantly. Nicole’s eyes widened, and Waverly seemed to double back on her words. “Uh, I’m mostly kidding. You were injured, and we try to help people here who get hurt. Just because you did something bad doesn’t mean you weren’t deserving of our help.” 

Nicole’s pulse quickened with thankfulness. “That’s… really kind of you,” she said, slightly hesitant. All her job experience had taught her that people aren’t nice for nothing. Nicole knew not to trust so easily, not to take words at face value. Even so, something about Waverly felt like she was being genuine. “So this is an inn? And you’re the owner?” she asked. 

“Ah, no, I’m not in charge here,” Waverly laughed. “That would be Wynonna, she inherited this place from our uncle before he passed a few years ago. I might seem more put together than her, but she’s really the backbone here. Without her, nothing would run smoothly.” Nicole could sense the amount of love Waverly had for her sister, and her heart was warmed by it.

As if she had heard her name being spoken, Wynonna choose that moment to swing the door open again. This time seeming much less stabby than before.  

Wynonna eyed Waverly and Nicole sitting on the bed together, giving Waverly a look with narrowed eyes that seemed a bit like a warning. “Come down to the office, you two. We have to talk payment.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm going away for a couple of days to do some real fun shit, will post another part when i get back. i think i like this story.


	3. nicole threatens to speak to the manager

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're getting somewhere! currency system is like d&d but on a very small scale.

The three women headed down the hall together, Wynonna leading and Waverly close behind her. Nicole trailed by a few feet, uncomfortable in the silence and unsure of what exactly was going on. Payment? Who has to be paid in this situation? 

The group headed down the stairs and rounded left into the den area. Nicole celebrated a silent victory as she recalled that she had thought the office would be in this direction, but quickly recoiled as she came face-to-face with a stern looking older woman. The woman eyed her warily, making Nicole feel unwelcome and nervous. She scurried after Wynonna and Waverly, feeling extremely out of place here. Wynonna reached a wooden door and unclasped a necklace that Nicole hadn’t noticed before. The focal point of the jewelry was a small silver key, which Wynonna slid into a padlock on the door. Wynonna jiggled the key for a moment before frustratedly motioning to Waverly.

“Can you get this? I swear this son of a bitch never opens when I try. It’s because Curtis liked you more,” Wynonna said, bitter with a hint of playfulness.

Waverly laughed at whatever joke Wynonna had apparently told, taking the key from her and smoothly unlocking the door before handing the necklace back. “It’s all in the wrist,” Waverly instructed.

Wynonna made a face at her and headed through the door. Inside, there was a desk made of a lighter wood with an inkwell and quills as well as a few dirty dishes. Stationery lined the workstation and there were some clothes scattered about. A blanket was thrown over a long cushioned bench, and Nicole wasn’t quite sure but she felt that this might be where Wynonna roomed. She spotted her sword in its scabbard leaned against a cupboard on the left wall with her armor and undershirt piled neatly beside it, making a mental note. Wynonna scooted behind the desk and into the larger chair behind it, with Waverly gently touching the small of Nicole’s back to lead her towards one of the chairs facing the desk. Nicole bit the inside of her cheek. 

“Alright lady knight--” Wynonna started.

“It’s Nicole,” Waverly and Nicole said in unison. They shared a glance. Nicole thought she saw a smirk play at the corner of Waverly’s lips. 

“Okay… Nicole. You owe us a hell of a lot of money,” Wynonna stated, very businesslike and matter-of-fact.

“What?” Nicole asked, taken aback. “Why would I owe you? If anything, y’all owe me for my horse and the rest of my shit!”

Wynonna interjected quickly. “Wow, one: y’all? I thought you knights were supposed to be haughty educated types, not hicks like us. Two: you killed one of my employees, ruined our crop of pumpkins, had a night’s stay here, and took advantage of our healer. Of course you owe us money. Three: your horse was collateral damage and is not my responsibility.”

“Oh, you did  _ not  _ just call that horse collateral damage! He was a real piece of work but he had been with me for years, if you think I’m going to be okay with your orc eating him alive then you’ve got me fucked up and all the way misunderstood!” Nicole shouted, standing from her seat.

“And you have me fucked up if you think I’m letting you slide for killing Grungbul! Yes, he was rough around the edges. But nobody made you in charge of determining if he lives or dies!” Wynonna yelled in return, also standing. 

Nicole slammed her hands down on the desk, leaning forward and speaking deadly serious. “Listen here, woman. I don’t know you. I don’t care to know you. I have business to do for the crown and no problem sending word to the king himself that I’m being treated unjustly by one of his citizens. If you think you can--”

Wynonna talked over Nicole, slinging her own angry words. “Are you threatening me? You must be a much dumber bitch than I originally thought, I have a dragonblood I can sic on you any day of the--” 

“Guys!” Waverly’s voice cut through the din. “Shut up, both of you. And sit down.” Wynonna and Nicole complied slowly, threatened by her sternness. 

“So, Nicole killed Grungbul and Grungbul killed Nicole’s horse. Doesn’t that seem even?” Waverly posited. 

“You really think the life of a person is equal to a horse, Waverly? You’re worse than mama with that shit. It was an animal! Animals die!” Wynonna raised her voice towards Waverly.

“Of course I don’t think they’re equal! I’m not your stupid kid sister anymore, it’s just that Nicole also sustained a lot of injuries and could’ve died, so I think that maybe in total we’re even!” Waverly spat back.

Nicole’s eyes flitted between the two of them. They both seemed like total forces of nature, Wynonna a stubborn and sure cliff’s edge and Waverly a passionate storm. The sisters definitely seemed to be digging up some history, what with all the ‘mama’ and ‘stupid kid’ talk. Nicole couldn’t pretend she wasn’t interested in this family dynamic, but right then she was more focused on the matter at hand.

“Waverly is right!” Nicole joined in. She saw Waverly stiffen out of the corner of her eye upon hearing her name. “I think we’re pretty even, all things considered,” Nicole finished quieter than she started, sensing the intensity of the fight dying down.

Wynonna looked at Nicole, staring into her soul for what felt like forever. Nicole tried her best to match the gaze, locking eyes with her and staring back just as hard. Wynonna blinked once and cleared her throat.

“Alright, sure. But she stills needs to pay for the crops, the night, and the healing,” Wynonna dictated, looking towards her sister.

“Of course,” Waverly replied. “Grungbul’s body took out half our food supply, that big ol’ boy. And I’m sure his blood tainted the rest of it.”

Nicole felt her fingers begin to numb with anxiety. They really expected her to pay for this shit? Pumpkins grow back! And Waverly said they were just being helpful with the bed and the healing, but requesting payment doesn’t seem helpful! Plus, all that aside, Nicole didn't have a single coin to her name. 

“So I’m thinking the usual rate of two copper pieces for a night, one silver for Jeremy’s healing… it’s the pumpkins where things get a little less cut and dry,” Wynonna detailed.

“It was a few weeks worth of the house stew in the patch, Gus told me that when she planted them. And we need to clean the patch and get new seeds,” Waverly explained. “So, maybe around ten gold pieces?”  
Nicole sputtered upon hearing the value. “Ten gold! That’s ridiculous!” she exclaimed.

Wynonna stared her down again. “Ten too much for you, capitol hotshot? I thought the king would’ve paid his own good money.” 

Nicole felt her blood run cold. Two distinct life paths flashed before her eyes: she could either lie and die at Wynonna’s hands once she found out, or she could be honest and hope they would forgive her of this debt. The choice seemed pretty clear.

“...I don’t have any coin…” Nicole mumbled. 

“What was that?” Wynonna pressed.

“I don’t have any coin!” Nicole repeated, louder than she intended. Her hands shot up to cover her mouth. 

The sisters stared at her, Wynonna with a smug security and Waverly with shock and what appeared to be a little pity. Nicole hated the way that made her feel. 

Wynonna began to laugh a deep belly laugh, her hands coming down on the table.

“No coin? You don’t have any money? At all?” she got out between laughs. Nicole saw Waverly crack a small smile in her peripheral.

“Are you guys really making fun of me? I think you might be underestimating the past two days I’ve had,” Nicole said with warning in her voice.

“Oh, is Miss No-Money-Knight going to send word to her king? Hey, what parcel service delivers for free, that sounds like a great deal!” Wynonna joked.

Anger surged through Nicole, and in a flash she was up from her chair, grabbing her sword and drawing it. Wynonna’s laughter quickly fizzled out at the press of a blade tip to her throat. 

“I’m going to gather my things, and I am going to be on my way from here. If you ever try to find me or contact me again, I will come back here and take your life with this very sword. Do you understand?” Nicole whispered towards Wynonna, her voice too calm. 

“Nicole!” Waverly shouted. Her sword faltered at the sound, dropping slightly. “You are  _ not  _ killing my sister! You are going to stay here, and you are going to earn back the money you lost us through the hard labor that we do every day to keep this place running.  _ Do you understand _ ?”

Nicole turned to look towards the younger sister, sheathing her sword back into the scabbard she was holding in her left hand. “You want me to work here? As a laborer?” she asked, unbelieving of the gall Waverly had to posit something like this. Nicole was a royal knight, not an innkeep. 

“We’re in need of a new gardener,” Waverly replied, her voice incredibly sure and steady. Nicole thought that this girl might be able to convince her of anything.

“Ah, the position suits you!” Wynonna said from her chair. “You’re certainly butch enough.”

Nicole glared towards the older sister, grabbing the hilt of her weapon but looking away upon the gentle slap of Waverly’s hand on her upper arm. 

“Wynonna, we’ll pay her a silver a day minus the cost of food and board, so really eight copper. That’s in the budget, right?” Waverly asked.

“Like, yes it is but I don’t know if I want her here! She’s a murderer and just threatened my life!” Wynonna exclaimed.

Waverly shot her a look. “What else do you suppose we do?”

Before Wynonna could start, Nicole interjected: “Eight copper a day? It’ll take me months to earn ten gold with those wages.”

There was a bit of hesitation before anyone spoke. “It’s well over what most people make,” Wynonna said with a sigh. “And, as much as I hate to say it, Waverly is right. What else do you suppose we do?”

Nicole stared at Wynonna for a moment and turned to look at Waverly. A small smile was on her face, an eyebrow slightly raised as if to ask: ‘what do you say?’ 

She sighed. She did hate being a knight, after all. Maybe simpler work would do her good? But these women were wild, Nicole didn’t know if she could handle working here for an extended period of time if every day was this hectic. But then again, she had no money, no horse, no food. She really didn’t have a choice. 

“Alright, what does a gardener at your inn do?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wynonna sure makes a lot of 'haught' jokes this time considering i haven't written a part where they learn her last name yet.


	4. breakfast at tiffany's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> straight up this is like the first thing i've ever written? i should've said that in the first chapter but i forgot about it, it's just cool to see responses to this and the other shit i've posted i guess. anyway, for the course of this story i'm ignoring a major choice made by a certain showrunner regarding the life status of a character because i love him.

Nicole awakened to the feeling of cold water splashing over her face and the sound of Wynonna screaming in her ear. 

“Wake up, Sir Nicole!” 

It might have been entirely possible that she regretted the choice she made last night. After their discussion in the office, the sisters sent Nicole back up to the room she had been staying in through the course of her recovery from various injuries in the past day with the promise to start work bright and early in the morning. Nicole had assumed that the ‘bright’ part of that agreement implied that the sun would be up when she got going, but you can’t always get what you want.

“Come on, lady! We’ve got a job to train you for, and that orc body won’t burn itself!” Wynonna was relentless, and as Nicole managed to crack her eyes open slightly she saw the bucket Wynonna was holding, figuring that as the source of the wetness all over her head. 

“What the fuck… okay,” Nicole mumbled as she started out of bed, apparently too slowly because Wynonna yanked her by the hand the rest of the way and started dragging her towards the door. “How are you up so early?” Nicole asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes with her free hand.

“Early to bed, early to rise! Or, alternatively, late to bed, late to rise! Never went to sleep, captain!” Wynonna responded as they walk down the stairs.

“M’not a captain, just a normal knight…” Nicole muttered, instantly regretting giving Wynonna this detail.

“Not even a good knight! You are just the gift that keeps on giving.”  
As they reached the landing of the staircase, Wynonna peeled right into the dining area. The room had four long wooden tables with steel legs, each with six chairs. There was an ornate red, purple, and yellow carpet that stretched from the center of the room and out about three fourths of the way to the wall. Nicole vaguely recognized a few paintings on the walls, they appeared to be some works by high profile artists. Wynonna may have been brash, but she was the proprietor of a fine establishment. A bar jutted out from the right wall with a window cut out showing a small kitchen area. Within, Nicole spotted Waverly working with the older woman she had seen the night before. 

“Waves, I’m here with the guest of honor! And I just found out she’s a terrible knight!” Wynonna yelled to her sister as they approached her, slinking behind the bar and through a waist-high door into the kitchen.

“Nicole! Is this true?” Waverly said with her eyes focused on her work, faking shock. Rude. Nicole stuck her tongue out, still too tired to function. 

It was at this moment when Waverly turned from her work to look towards Nicole, her jaw dropping slightly and a slight blush creeping up from her neck. Nicole stood before her, still in Waverly’s old shirt and a pair of tattered linen pants that were well fitted but only reached about mid-calf. Nicole was relaxed, with one hand scratching the back of her head and her bicep flexing just a little. She looked up just in time to see Waverly staring, who quickly averted her eyes and went back to cooking what looked to be a hearty breakfast with the other woman. 

“Hey!” Waverly squeaked, not looking towards her. “Nicole, you should meet Gus, our other employee and our aunt. She really should be the owner here, but she doesn’t want to deal with the paperwork. She can come off a little rough around the edges.” Gus laughed lightly and looked up towards Nicole, giving a slight salute.

“Howdy,” Nicole rasped out in a tired voice. She heard Waverly quickly take in a deep breath.

“Okay! Um, Gus is our head chef, but sometimes I help her cook when we have a lot of guests like we do right now, because it’s kind of hard to make food for everybody and I don’t want her to--” Waverly rambled, flustered.

Nicole watched Wynonna tap Waverly on the shoulder and whisper something in her ear. Waverly glanced nervously at Nicole and then glared at her sister. She was blushing again.

“And you, newbie! Grab a table,” the older sister requested. 

As Nicole left the team of women and headed back into the dining room, she saw a few others gathered at the table nearest the bar, drawn downstairs by the (admittedly delicious) smell of Gus and Waverly’s cooking. Jeremy, the mage who she recognized from yesterday caught her eye first. He waved slightly, his two companions turning to face her as well. A dark skinned man with a shaved head flashed her a stunning smile, followed by the tip of a ratty hat from the man next to him. This guy was sporting one hell of a mustache, and Nicole couldn’t help but think he needed a good trim. 

“Nicole! Come meet some of the regulars!” Jeremy said excitedly. He began introducing the others as she stepped closer. “This is Dolls,” he started, motioning towards the man who had smiled at her. “He’s a dragonblood, but a softie through-and-through.”

“Pleasure,” Nicole greeted. 

“Likewise,” Dolls replied. “I hear you’re a knight?”

“Ah, I am. But it seems like for the time being I’m taking a brief sabbatical to become a garden worker here,” she laughed. 

“Funny, too. I can see why Waverly was excited to have her stay,” he said to his group. Nicole caught herself smiling, surprised to hear that.

“And this is--” Jeremy lead, interrupted by the man with the hat.

“John Henry Holliday, but you, my dear, can call me Doc.”

“Okay,” Nicole replied, instantly disliking this guy’s forwardness. But he was oddly charming, so maybe she would warm up to him. 

At this, Wynonna came out of the kitchen with a large platter of breakfast meats. “Already meeting my boys?” she remarked. “Hands off, lady.”

“Not something you have to worry about, Wynonna,” Nicole responded. Jeremy smiled at her, and Wynonna’s eyes narrowed as she looked at her over the plate she was setting down. She laughed suddenly, clapping Nicole on the back. “You’re not so bad, y’know? I was worried you would be more stuck-up.” Nicole took it as a compliment. 

Waverly followed shortly after her sister with another platter, this one full of eggs, and a pitcher of juice. She was trailed by Gus, who was struggling to carry two plates of toast and a tumbler of water. Nicole leaned forward, silently offering to take the water. Gus let her, giving her a curt but genuine smile in return. As Gus and Wynonna took their seats at the table and struck up a conversation with the others, Nicole found herself standing uncomfortably at the corner and rocking on her heels. 

“Nicole, pull up a chair,” Waverly said quietly to her. She had her hand on Nicole’s right shoulder and let it fall down her arm as she moved to sit in her seat. Nicole did as instructed, heart racing as she lifted one of the chairs from a different table and took it to the short edge of the group’s table, with Waverly on her right and Jeremy on her left. These people had a really interesting, close dynamic. It felt very foreign to Nicole, but also very comfortable. 

“So, as I’m sure y’all have noticed, we have a new addition to the family,” Wynonna began, gesturing towards Nicole, who balked at the word choice and struggled to act smooth while trying not to choke on the mug of water she had poured herself. “She’s with us temporarily, but still! It’s important to make her feel welcome, because we’re kind of forcing her to be here,” Wynonna laughed. She stood and pulled a flask from her belt, raising it in a toast. “To Nicole! The newest employee of The Homestead!” 

The rest of the table echoed the toast, clinking mugs together and laughing happily. Nicole was admittedly confused by this, but nevertheless glad to see that this arrangement was already going better than she thought it would. Food was passed around and Nicole had to hide her raw joy at eating a full meal like this. Living off fungus from the woods and horse chow didn’t do the body very good. She bit into a hunk of breakfast meat, sighing at the initial delicious fat and blinking at the shock of maple sweetness that came as an aftertaste. Seeing how Wynonna had broken off into conversation with Dolls and Gus and how Jeremy and Doc were discussing something in a book Jeremy had pulled out, Nicole decided to be bold and elbow Waverly gently in the arm. 

“Did you make this?” Nicole questioned, mouth still full of food.

“Ah, yeah,” Waverly replied, chuckling nervously. “It’s my uncle’s spice rub. He taught us how to make it when we were kids and I try to use it as often as possible because I love it.”

“It’s delicious!” Nicole replied. Waverly smiled brightly at her.

“You really think so?” she asked. “I can teach you how to make it, I mean, if you want to learn.” 

“Please do, I haven’t had food like this in ages,” Nicole answered. Something about making Waverly grin like that caused Nicole’s chest to flutter with warmth. The younger woman was really kind, and Nicole couldn’t help but feel drawn to her. She had a relaxing energy and a sense of depth that Nicole would love to get to know. And apparently, according to Dolls’ comment, Waverly felt at least a little bit the same way. Nicole smiled to herself.

Her reverie was broken by the loud slam of a flask on the table. Wynonna turned to her, a wily look in her eye. “Eat up Nicole, we’ve got work to do!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter will probably have more weird flirting and it will continue on like that until i implement a time skip because i'm lazy.


End file.
